Pierre Bourdieu: Revisiting Reproduction, Cultural Capital, and Symbolic Violence in Education

In the last 20 years, we have seen a growing interest internationally in Pierre Bourdieu’s scholarship within the field of educational research. Bourdieu’s reflexive and relational sociological armory provides insight into how structural inequalities are established and maintained, ripple through education, and can be attenuated or disrupted. This chapter charts the genesis of Bourdieu’s deep conceptual work regarding education, which was deeply connected to his own biography. The chapter then focuses on three conceptual advancements Bourdieu made which inform educational research today: education and social reproduction; education and cultural capital; and education and symbolic violence. This is followed by a discussion of two of Bourdieu’s early works written with Jean-Claude Passeron: Les Heritiers (1964/1979) and Reproduction in Education, Culture and Society (1977). The two works represent important junctures in the formation of Bourdieu’s thinking regarding how inequality is manifested and maintained at all levels of education.